It is estimated that something like 20% of new businesses fail within a year of starting up, and 50% within the first three years. These are grim numbers, especially for anyone who is considering starting up their own business. Fortunately, there is an upside, looking at those figures in a slightly different way, 80% of all new business survive their first year and 50% make it to at least three years.
What anyone looking to start their own company needs to do is to analyse what the businesses that succeeded did, that the ones that failed didn’t. There are in fact a number of common mistakes that failed businesses have made and knowing what they are will give newcomers the necessary knowledge to help them avoid falling into the same trap.
Business failures are often blamed on insufficient start up capital or not hiring the right people. The truth however, is that the failure of many new businesses comes down to something far closer to home, a failure to thoroughly research the potential viability of the business in the first place. Believing you have a great idea and throwing money into getting it up and running, without first having undertaken proper market research is the number one killer for the majority of new businesses. Fortunately there are ways to avoid this by carrying out relatively simple surveys yourself, without breaking the bank on expensive market research organisations before you have even begun.
Test out the viability of your business by asking the opinion and advice of your own network of contacts. Take a look at government data on such things; it is almost always available completely free of charge. Take a look at businesses operating in areas similar to yours and see if they are succeeding or failing. If they are profitable take a look at why, and find out whom they are selling their products or services to. One of the most common mistakes made by new businesses is that of over estimating the market impact that they will have. Setting up in a larger than necessary office or shop; hiring too many people and purchasing unnecessary and expensive equipment based on cash flow projections that have more to do with hope than reality, are the quickest ways imaginable to send a new business to the wall.
The importance of accurate market research and enforcing a strict cost control regime cannot be overstated. Never be afraid to seek professional, expert advice on financial issues, preferably from an experienced business accountant or financial adviser. Make sure you have enough money to get your business idea up and running and have contingency plans in place should it fail to take off in a short period of time. Also be aware that situations can arise that are entirely beyond your control, such as interest rate rises, for example. Having healthy cash reserves to get you through an unforeseen crisis is an absolute requirement in this day and age.
A professional business plan …
Entrepreneurship has been growing in popularity the world over. The benefits in my opinion far outweigh the cons so I’ve written this article to overview my personal opinions in hopes of helping others. Procrastination is probably the number one defeating tendency that cripples many would be entrepreneurs before their journey ever even begins.
I’ve created my own top Six List to help others overcome what can hinder success as a budding entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship Obstacle One: It’s Easy.
Its human nature to make assumptions and it’s no different when an individual judges an entrepreneur on a superficial level. They dont necessarily recognize the hard work and perseverance that a person may have gone through on their journey to success. When we recognize a successful business lets use a restaurant for a hypothetical we immediately tend to think of the obvious. We may simplify it believing if we had a good chef, great food along with a busy location presto instant success.
This is looking at the potential opportunity at its most basic level as an entrepreneur you must learn to dig deeper into the mechanics of the operation to determine what actually makes it tick. A great example in staying with the same hypothetical would be to consider the HR skills to acquire great people, followed by the training requirements needed than onto marketing and learning how to get people through the front door in the first place.
Negotiating a lease on the commercial space required in addition to the kitchen equipment. Setting up payroll, employee benefits and more are just some of the mechanics that make the business you’re seeing successful. By understanding what it takes and what’s happening behind the scenes is what sets entrepreneurs apart.
Obstacle Two: Entrepreneurship is Hard.
The term contradictive may be running through you mind just about now but let me explain and define what it is I’m conveying here. Entrepreneurism is like architecture and it does require a valiant effort and the right building blocks to really achieve great success. Writing and following a properly structured business plan will be worth its weight in gold. Remember failing to plan is planning to fail so a business plan should never be overlooked or ignored.
Achieving success comes down to executing a well thought out plan. Taking predetermined steps that will guide you through the tough times and allow you to thoroughly enjoy good times. Many will immediately dive into the exciting aspects of starting a business then become intimidated with all that’s required on the backend.
The reality is that it’s only as difficult as you choose to make it. There have been countless successful entrepreneurs and if you have a willingness to learn and follow the proper steps you can easily find yourself among there ranks.
Obstacle Three: Most New Businesses Fail
Most of the stats will indicate that an enormous amount of new business start ups will ultimately fail within the first 5 years. True Entrepreneurs do not focus on such negativity …
Starting a new business can be very scary. For a new business owner, it can be very difficult to know where to start. If you are looking for advice, then you have come to the right place. This article will help you get started and give you tips for where to go next.
The first step to any successful business is a business plan. You need to make sure that you have one of these laid out. Throughout the life of your business, your plan will adapt and develop as your business grows.
Your plan will contain many important points. Firstly, you will need to look at your budget. Do a cost count and do a projection of the setup costs for the first 12 months of operation. When doing this, look at the costs month to month. If you can, factor in both the worst case scenario and the best case scenario.
Next, define your business strategy. Define your target market. Who are going to be your clients/customers, and why have you chosen this group. Do a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). By considering the current state of your market you can look at what sets you apart from the others and where you stand.
When starting a new business, you need to access what makes you unique. You are competing with already established business. You need to give potential customers a reason to come to you instead! This leads on to the next item you need to consider; an exit strategy. If you cannot draw the customers, you will need to have a plan to get out. Is it therefore wise to get others involved? Can you be prepared to sell your business? These questions are tough but you need to have answers for them.
On top of a business plan, you should also consider getting a mentor. A great mentor is an important asset to your business. They can give you a different perspective on your business decisions, and provide wise advice. As long as you are prepared to listen to tough advice, a mentor will be of great help to you.
The next question for you to ask is who should be your mentor. Don’t only look to advisors within your business field. You are first and foremost an entrepreneur. Look to a successful entrepreneur who has a proven record in business.
Lastly, be sure you register as a business. To register in Australia, choose a business name with the ABR (Australian Business Register), the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission) and your state’s Department of Fair Trade. Make sure your business name is available. Otherwise, your business will not be counted!
Starting a new business can seem overwhelming. Don’t worry; its not that hard! The important thing is to keep a cool head and not get overwhelmed. With these tips you should be setup and running in no time.…
The latest figures show the unemployment rate in the US is topping 10%’s one in ten people out of work! And, the future isn’t looking particularly bright. Recent reports estimate the lack of work will continue through 2011, at least. You can’t sit around and wait for big business or the government to turn the economy around, so it’s pretty much up to you to take control for yourself. How can you get your financial life back on track? Put yourself to work!
Starting a business of your own is the best and only way to take complete control of your work life. Working for yourself means no layoffs, no wage freezes, no begging for a day off, no hoping that the big bossman will grant you a meager year-end bonus. When you work for yourself, YOU set your income goals and work as hard (or not) as needed to reach those goals. YOU develop a company culture that fits your personality. YOU establish your own work hours. And YOU decide when it’s time to grow.
Of course, starting a business requires a good bit of time and effort, but at least the work you do is just for you. When you want to earn more income, you put in more work. When you want a little time off, you take the time you need. Because it’s all on you, you will do the work to control the risks and because you are taking control of your worklife, you are more likely to stay motivated.
For many new entrepreneurs, the toughest part of independence is taking the first even figuring out what that first step would be. If you’re just not sure where to start, start here:
Define Your Goals
Take a look at where you are now and where you want to be. Write it all down and cover all areas of your life.
Make the Tough Decisions
If you are drowning in debt, decide how to handle it. If you hate your job, set a deadline to make the change. If you don’t have any startup cash, figure out how to raise it. Look at the gap between where you are and where you want to be and create a concrete plan to close up that gap. If it seems like it will take forever, don’t let that bother you. If you start today, you are one day closer to where you want to be!
Pick a Startup
Brainstorm business ideas, find a modified version of your own big idea, talk to your friends and family about startup opportunities. It really doesn’t matter where you start with your independence, just that you get started. Most wildly successful entrepreneur change direction a number of times before landing on the perfect opportunity. And, more opportunities seem to appear once you’ve taken the first step.
Educate Yourself
Entrepreneurship is its own separate profession. Becoming an expert requires that you learn the fundamentals of a bunch of other professions, including accounting, marketing, …
“I’m going to do it. I’m going to start my own business.”
Chances are you said that or something like it at some point in your career. And here you are, a solopreneur with your own company, reaping the rewards of having control of your own career. Ain’t it great? Or maybe not so great? Perhaps things aren’t quite how you had pictured them. Or it’s taking longer than you thought to get traction. Or there are loads of tasks and decisions that you have to attend to that you hadn’t anticipated.
It is pretty common for a different reality to hit us once we take the leap into solopreneurship. Often it’s a deep passion that motivates the transition, and with our heart leading sometimes the head needs time to catch up. Too bad this isn’t all there is to it.
In all the years that I have been a solopreneur and I have coached solopreneurs, there is one obstacle that keeps cropping up. No matter who, no matter what, no matter where-this obstacle is the single biggest hindrance to the forward progress of the solo business owners around the world.
In short, the biggest obstacle to your success . Not you, the person who believes passionately in your business and who is willing to do whatever it takes to be successful. Not you, the one who knows you can do it. I’m talking about the part of you whose beliefs will keep you spinning your wheels or taking two steps back for every three steps forward.
This is the part of us that I call the Starving Artist.
The Starving Artist whispers things like this in your inner ear:
You have to earn your success, and it takes time to do that.
It’s going to be hard, but stick to it and you’ll get there eventually.
There’s no gain without pain.
Suffering is what brings out your creativity.
Let go of your suffering and you’ll lose that creative spark.
Money corrupts, and wanting to make a lot of it is not a noble goal.
Any of that sound familiar? Essentially, the Starving Artist embodies all the limiting beliefs you have about your own knowledge and abilities. They may have come from parents or teachers, from siblings or peers, or from decisions you made about yourself and about how the world works. Wherever they come from, these beliefs will sabotage you and the growth of your business.
What does your Starving Artist say to you? If you have a hard time answering that, try this: What repeating patterns in your business have held you back? Here are a few examples that indicate the influence of the Starving Artist in your business:
Your only clients are people who can’t pay your standard fees or who pay really slowly after a lot of follow up.
You seem to have a portfolio comprised only of “difficult” or high-maintenance clients.
Every time you have a big, exciting success, it is followed shortly by something …
Starting a business from home can be both scary and exciting at the same time. In today’s economy many people are going into business for themselves and want to be the boss and earn the money that they deserve. This Article focuses on 9 important tips that can help you have success with your new venture.
Tip #1 – Check with you local business agencies or the sba to see if you need any license or permits to run a venture from your house. Some states do require these licenses and without them you can face fines and have your business shut down.
Tip #2 – Build you venture around the skills that you have, if you are a great graphic designer, then make sure to offer that as a service. Trying to learn a new craft and making a living off it is very difficult and it is not recommended at all. Your goal is to start making a living right away from your new venture, use your skills that made you some money in your former job.
This may sound funny but some folks try to build a new business around new skills that they have not polished yet and it ends up costing them their business, clients will leave you quickly and the complaints can build up quickly too.
Tip #3 – Make sure to have a website with a catchy domain name, if you are a graphic designer then make sure to include those keywords in your domain name. This will tell your clients what your business is all about, this builds branding right away.
Tip #4 – Build or have someone design you a professional website or blog. Image is everything and a sloppy looking site or blog will simply tell your clients that your business is sloppy too. If your site looks like a site from the 90s, then forget about having clients take you and your venture serious.
Tip #5 – Check on your competition and see what they are doing and how they are running their business. You will want to do this for sure, see how their site looks. Look at their products and services, see how much they are charging and what their unique selling propositions are.
Smart business owners do this all the time, they get tons of information from their competition and use it to their advantage and build a stronger more profitable business.
Tip #6 – Make it easy for your clients to order from you, do not make it an obstacle. If you plan on selling online then simply add a PayPal button to your website and make sure that your shopping cart works without any problems.
Tip #7 – Make sure that your site is not too heavy on the graphics and flash banners, slow loading sites will drive visitors away and this can reduce your sales drastically.
Tip #8 – Offer great customer support and make sure clients can contact you if they have …
If you have been thinking about starting your own home-based business, there is no better time to start than today! It has never been easier to start your own business from home than it is today with the ease of the internet and the fact that it is widely used across the world. While it may seem like it will be easy, you should realize that it is in fact a real business, so be sure to attack it with plenty of motivation, desire, and determination. There are a few really great ways to make your income, some of which can be very lucrative if you know what you are doing and are ready to work hard.
Here are three ways you can build a legitimate home-based business in a relatively short period of time, they include:
1 – Selling affiliate products
While this can mean many things, basically being an “affiliate” means you are selling someone else’s product and receiving a commission every time you make a sale. This is the fastest way to start selling something, however it is not the most lucrative, since you do not get to keep all of the profits from the sale. If you are not interested in creating your own products or offering a service, this might work well for you.
2 – Your own information products
If you have some knowledge or expertise in a certain area, you can create ebooks, audio courses, and video courses, and then sell them on a website. While this may take some time to put together the products, the reward is well worth the time since you only create the product once and then make money from it for years and years to come. If you do have some expertise in any certain area, this type of business can be very lucrative and is worth consideration.
3 – Consulting
Do you have a lot of experience in something that others will pay your for? If you do, you can start a consulting service and help people 1-on-1 via telephone, email, or even face-to-face. While this type of business may take more of your time since you must be there to consult, it can be very lucrative since people are willing to pay big money for others to help them with the topic at hand. If you are an expert in any field, you should strongly consider this type of business. You can even do a combination of #2 and #3, creating products to help others as well as offering your 1-on-1 consulting as a high-ticket item.
Whichever form of business you choose, be sure to explore the pro’s and con’s of each, choosing whichever fits your personality best.…
I did not always have an entrepreneurial mind; as a matter of fact, when I graduated college, I was very lost. I was working at a software company and for a few more thousand dollars, took a job at a large public company (you would laugh if I told you the name). I was doing account management for their financial clients. Because it was a work from home position, the only thing I managed was the couch and DVR. After trying to ruffle a few feathers and really make a difference in the company, I was gradually ousted from “the group” and was eventually pushed out. I wasn’t fired, but I was put in a situation where it was either / or.
Though, at this firm, I learned the true definition of the word “complacent.” This brings me to the first question which I will put forth to get your brain in gear. Please keep in mind that these questions are here to help you as they will give you some guidance as to whether owning your own business would be right for you.
1. In twenty years, one day your son or daughter will be asked about you. More likely than not, the first thing that will come up is your career. How do you think they will describe your career and your job? Does that answer resonate well with you?
If the answer is fine with you, there are two presumed scenarios. The first is that you were very successful and enjoy reading about entrepreneurs on the web. Thus, I am flattered you are reading my article. The second is that you, more likely than not, do not have an entrepreneurial frame of mind.
2. How much would you invest in yourself? If you had to put a net worth on your brain, would it be more or less than what someone else is paying for it? Also, is that someone even using your brain?
If you’re like many and are in this situation, you have to work harder to become an entrepreneur for a few reasons. The first is that your brain is not being put to work on a daily basis, so you have to get that going. Additionally, because of the economy, it is very scary to go off on your own. So choose your time wisely, but don’t put it off too long.
3. If somebody put you out on the street and gave you $10,000 – everything else is gone. How much of that money would you spend on books?
If the answer is less than $1,000, you probably are good where you are at. This is a great test as entrepreneurs don’t create something out of nothing, they create something out of learning. Books are such an important factor of business success. Remember, in this case, you do not have the internet which shouldn’t be relied upon too heavily anyway.
4. If somebody offered you a million dollars to never work again, …
One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is, “How can I be sure my new business will succeed?” There is no crystal ball that can accurately answer that question. However, if you are serious about starting a business there are five steps you can take that will begin to give you a clearer picture. By following these steps you will gain tremendous insight into what lies ahead. Whether this reality-check convinces you to dive in, or hold back, you’ll be well served by what you learn. While we are huge proponents of founders developing a well written business plan, the steps below can be followed even before you start your small business plan.
Step 1: Write a simple elevator pitch to see if your business idea is compelling to others. If you haven’t created an elevator pitch before, you can stitch together the essentials very easily. Write a one sentence answer to each of the following questions. What problem will your company solve for its customers? Who has this problem and how large is that group? What will make your business unique so that customers will buy from you instead of a competitor? Finally, what are your qualifications to run the business? If you force yourself to write and re-write the very best one sentence answers to each of these questions, you will have the elevator pitch you need for this purpose. Now, try out your elevator pitch on 10 people you trust and respect to get their feedback and reaction to your well-formed business concept. This is the warm up for steps two and three.
Step 2: Talk to would-be customers to find out if there is a true need for your product or service. When you are thinking about starting a business, you obviously feel there is a void in the marketplace. Don’t wait until you open your business to find out if the need for another business is real or imagined. Armed with your elevator pitch, go have face-to-face discussions with future customers. You are not going to them to sell, or pre-sell. You are doing market research. After describing your business by generally following your elevator pitch, go into “ask and listen” mode. To get the information you are seeking, ask questions like, “How are you currently meeting your needs for (insert the products or services your company will provide)?” Listen carefully-this is the voice of the customer. In step one, you spoke to friends and respected colleagues. In step two, you are talking to people who currently buy products or services like those you will be selling. Select individuals who will be focused on the content of your ideas and less concerned about simply wanting to be encouraging.
Step 3: Become an expert on the competition. Identify 5 other companies that are already doing what you plan to do. Learn as much about them as you can. One of the best things to learn is if they expanding or shrinking. You want to …
Getting started in mobile marketing can seem daunting because there are so many options available to you. The following tips will bring mobile marketing into perspective and help you choose a viable strategy.
You should never send messages to your customers without a good reason. You should only message them with useful information. Some businesses failed in their mobile marketing endeavors because they chose to send arbitrary and impractical text messages to their customers. Customers aren’t looking for humorous, personal messages from a business they patronize. They’re looking for valuable information and ways to save money.
Make your point but keep it short when it comes to mobile content. Mobile device screens are small, so droning on and on about a product just to get more keywords in is annoying to readers. Mobile marketing demands short, concise, and direct messages to consumers.
Check out the things your rivals are doing, you will get advantage when it comes to social network marketing. It is important that you are different than competitors.
Make sure you know when people are getting your text messages. They shouldn’t be sent when they’re sleeping or having dinner with their families. Regardless of how tempting the offer or how enticing the message may be, customers are unlikely to appreciate an off-hours text.
Mobile marketing is one of the best ways to watch your profits rise. More and more people every day use mobile phones for social networking and to download applications. Both of these serve as excellent mediums for marketing your business. You need to target your customers where they are congregating online.
Have a basic understanding of mobile devices if you want to develop a successful mobile marketing campaign so you may optimize your site and ads for a mobile platform. Try out as many mobile devices as you can so that you understand the user’s experience.
When calling or texting someone, remember there is a live person on the receiving end; therefore, it is important to be considerate of the time in which you call as well as the type of message you are sending. Act accordingly.
Apps are not difficult to create. Your customers would love to receive a free app; why not build your own? Offering your own unique app will help to improve your business and take full advantage of mobile marketing. There are many choices to make about app features; the possibilities are endless.
Although lots of people use their phones for Internet text, not all know the different kinds of abbreviations used online. Any lack of understanding in your advertisement will yield unfavorable results both short and long term.
The many different techniques used in mobile marketing are all based on a few shared principles. Usually the only differences are in the level of technology involved and how that technology is utilized. All it takes to decide between them is some research and common sense to find the best and most effective techniques to use in your plan for you, …